Topic: Their First Mistake (1932) - Laurel and Hardy

[metaldams]

http://laurelandhardycentral.com/mistake.html

http://www.lordheath.com/menu1_70.html

(Spoilers ahead)

      Gotta hand it to Laurel and Hardy, they're never afraid to experiment.  THEIR FIRST MISTAKE, while not anywhere near a classic, is thematically different and somewhat interesting.  They have a lot of little curveball moments, this is one of them.  Unfortunately, the structure is lacking and the laughs are few and far between.

      The beginning is definitely the best part.  The build up to Stan walking in on Ollie and Mae Busch and spoiling Ollie's lie is excellent.  Mae obviously doesn't want Ollie hanging with Stan, and her anger and Ollie's sheepishness is great here.  Ollie pretends someone else is on the phone when Stan calls and Stan doesn't understand why Ollie refers to him as another name.  Ollie then concocts this great line of B.S. that this is an important business person he's going to meet with that will lead to career advancement, and Mae is delighted.  Then Stan comes walking in to inform Ollie that was him on the phone, and the anger is comically explosive.  That part by far was my biggest laugh in the short, the only real peak after a slow build up.

      The rest of the short comically has no peaks and valleys, it really just plays like a straight line of mild comic drama with the occasional funny gag or line thrown in.  Stan going through the physical motions of looking like he's about to breast feed a baby - along with Ollie's reactions to this, are fantastic.  Of course, Stan pulls a bottle out of his shirt instead - a good gag.  Stan using a match to see if he turned the light off is humorous as well, but the gags and lines for the most part are mildly entertaining, but there's very little comic tension.  Nothing builds up well.  As far as the ending, you know the way we complain about a lot of Stooge shorts ending too suddenly with a sudden gag of the boys running away randomly?  The ending here is so sudden it makes those Stooge endings seem like well thought out masterpieces.  See for yourself and tell me if you agree, but VERY sudden.

      Thematically, Stan is basically the other woman.  Mae divorces Ollie because Ollie pays more attention to Stan and even legally serves Stan a paper for this very reason!  They also adopt a baby together, and Ollie does the equivalent of complaining when Stan is about to go away as if Stan is a spouse about to abandon their child.  The adopted baby was Stan's idea, though.  As an aside, gotta laugh at how easily that child got adopted.  The mother didn't even need to show up, Stan and Ollie just getting a baby like we'd get a pet from a pet store.

      Interesting short overall, but comically they did much better....like in the next Laurel and Hardy short we'll be discussing.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Yeah, somebody thought that grown men playing with and drinking out of baby bottles was going to be very funny.  Not terribly.  And a pointless cameo by George Marshall.  As far as the abrupt ending is concerned, didn't Stan have a death in the family or something during shooting?  I think I read that they called it a wrap so that he could have some time off.  No great loss, if we judge from what remains, unless there was a planned boffo finish that never was filmed.  You also fear for the baby in these circumstances.

[Umbrella Sam]

Not too much to add here, as I agree with both of you. The best scenes are definitely towards the beginning. I especially love the moment where Stan looks into a mirror to confirm he is himself, after being confused by Ollie referring to him as Mr. Jones. The material afterwards isn’t bad; Stan has a couple funny lines and it’s always good to see Ollie’s reactions. However, the idea of trying to be quiet around a baby just is not a funny concept; it would of been much funnier if it was an adult like Walter Long they were trying to keep quiet around, as there would be a real threat to waking him up, sort of similar to the Merrie Melodies cartoon, A PEST IN THE HOUSE. Also, like Big Chief mentions, there are moments where you fear for the baby’s safety in some of these scenes (as opposed to PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES, where despite their ineptitude in taking care of themselves, they seem to be able to take care of Eddie’s daughter without putting her in harm’s way).

Now, the idea of Ollie taking on the motherly role is a decent idea, but not one that they take full advantage of after the initial scene of him getting Stan to stay. The lack of a musical score throughout beyond the credits also does not help matters.

It is interesting that this was the short immediately released after PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES, considering both deal with Stan and Ollie taking care of a child and both even feature director George Stevens in a small role. However, while PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES has the advantage of being a feature focused more on dramatic elements (which work for the most part, in my opinion), THEIR FIRST MISTAKE is a short film that simply tries to make comedy out of an idea that just doesn’t allow for much comedy. Overall, this one’s alright, but not super memorable beyond a few small moments.

7 out of 10

[Umbrella Sam]

Yeah, somebody thought that grown men playing with and drinking out of baby bottles was going to be very funny.  Not terribly.  And a pointless cameo by George Marshall.  As far as the abrupt ending is concerned, didn't Stan have a death in the family or something during shooting?  I think I read that they called it a wrap so that he could have some time off.  No great loss, if we judge from what remains, unless there was a planned boffo finish that never was filmed.  You also fear for the baby in these circumstances.

I believe you’re thinking of OLIVER THE EIGHTH. Stan’s brother died during the production of that short. According to The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt, a definitive ending was filmed but scrapped for unknown reasons.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

No, I knew about the relative's death in Oliver the Eighth, this is another family situation that warranted time off for Stan.  Somebody got sick?  Stan got divorced?  ( God knows there were plenty of those. )   I'm sorry I can't be more specific, I just can't recall where I read it, but it struck me at the time as a reliable source, whatever it was.  I'm certain that someone on here will know more about it.

[metaldams]

The only other family death I can think of is the death of Stan's premature son in May 1930.  This was while THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE was being filmed.  Combined with IF A BODY MEETS A BODY where it's very obvious Curly is sick, this is obviously a doomed script.

[Paul Pain]

As far as I know, all was well in Stan's world at this time.  I'll write more later as I've actually seen this one before.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

I knew there were two.  Maybe it was the L-H Murder Case and Oliver the Eighth rather than Their First Mistake.  All three end weird.

[HomokHarcos]

I'm not a terribly picky man, and enjoy almost all Laurel and Hardy, but this has one of my least favorite parts in one their films. When Stan drinks out of a baby bottle. I know the joke is supposed to be that it looks like he is going to try to breastfeed the baby, only to bring out the bottle and give it to Stan. But having him drink the bottle himself was too far for me. Otherwise, I think Brats was better than this film. The ending was abrupt, but it would probably be better than the alternative (Mae comes back with a baby).

[Dr. Mabuse]

Potentially great Laurel and Hardy short does not fulfill its comic potential. After a classic first reel, "Their First Mistake" simply falls apart — it's all setup and no payoff. A little more Mae Busch would have helped.

6.5/10

[Tony Bensley]

Potentially great Laurel and Hardy short does not fulfill its comic potential. After a classic first reel, "Their First Mistake" simply falls apart — it's all setup and no payoff. A little more Mae Busch would have helped.

6.5/10

The originally planned ending, which would have featured a little more Mae Busch, fell victim to the budget for this short having ran out. The" ending" for THEIR FIRST MISTAKE (1932) plays like they simply ran out of film.

Their next short, TOWED IN A HOLE (1932) fares much better, and is among my favorite Laurel & Hardy short subjects.

CHEERS!